Description
“You must resist anything that doesn’t center your divinity as a human being. You are worthy of care.”
― Tricia Hersey
My name is Malarie Marquez and I am a Nationally Certified and Licensed Professional Counselor. I work with clients across a range of specialties, but I am particularly experienced in helping clients with anxiety, identity development, developing healthy relationships, complicated grief, identity development, intimate relationship trauma, life transitions, navigating college and education and most recently, perinatal mental healthcare, which I believe impacts many individuals and families as they embark on their journey of parenting and caregiving. My practice is centered around serving adults ages 18-50 within BIPOC communities, but welcoming individuals of all ages and from all backgrounds.
I believe in social justice and strengthening communities within the therapy space. As a cisgender, heterosexual, Black Woman from the inner city of Milwaukee, I have received therapy from clinicians who lacked cultural responsiveness and did not understand my nuanced, Black-lived experience. Those negative experiences in therapy often left me feeling gaslighted and invalidated. Over time, I realized that my experience was not unique to me, but was often experienced by many people from all walks of life. It took years for me to find therapeutic spaces that resonated with my identity and gave me room to do deeply emotional work that addressed many of my own adversities as a Black Woman. Now, I want to change that narrative for others in BIPOC communities. I actively work to dismantle stereotypes associated with how BIPOC individuals should appear in the world and in therapeutic spaces. I intentionally demolish implicit bias and stereotyping by ensuring I do not make assumptions about my clients based on how they identify themselves. As a counselor, I feel it is my responsibility to ensure the therapy I provide resonates with and validates my clients experiences.
Women, particularly BIPOC women, often experience healthcare and mental health related disparities before, during and after pregnancy. Not to mention, there are many factors connected to these experiences that may impact a woman’s overall mental health as they navigate through a very life changing experience. I am intentional about learning ways to hold space to support women, birthing persons and their support systems who are experiencing perinatal mood disorders, such as: Depression and anxiety related to fertility, pregnancy, and motherhood, and also supporting individuals who experience these issues after becoming a caregiver to a child. Having worked with individuals who each have such a unique experience with embarking on parenthood, it is important that they feel validated and heard, and be presented with the option to learn new coping strategies to promote mental wellness that encourages them to feel connected to their caregiving experiences.
I believe accessibility is vital and part of anti-oppressive mental healthcare practices, and this also extends to the LGBTQ community. I consider myself a strong ally and intentionally work to advocate for the LGBTQ community to bring awareness to the issues it faces. I am committed to seeking more knowledge about this community on a daily basis through activism, literature, and personal experience.
In my practice, I approach therapy as a partnership, with the goal of improving clients’ wellbeing and overall quality of life. I believe the client is the true expert on their own life, and as the counselor, I am there to guide them to find insight in their past experiences. My philosophy supports empowering individuals to examine their lives in a way that is impactful for themselves, their families, and their communities. I promote introspection into the issues that clients feel are a barrier to their happiness, and I safely support them in examining those issues.
I approach counseling from a psychodynamic, relational and solutions-focused perspective; focusing on my clients’ individual life experiences, personally connecting to them and examining how these experiences have shaped who they are while encouraging clients to feel empowered to implement tangible results in real time during our work together. As a Black Woman, understanding the duality of managing pleasure, joy and pain is an experience that is all too real for me on a daily basis. In therapy with me, I will understand you by speaking with you and not at you.
Outside of therapy, I genuinely value self-care. I believe in rest as a form of liberation, which is why I encourage my clients to utilize self-care and mindfulness daily to promote their health and well-being. The time and space I make in my life for self-care is intentional to ensure I am emotionally prepared to work with my clients. Music, cooking, traveling, journaling, and spending time with family are the most restorative for me. Beyond self-care, I am a huge film buff and often watch new films with my biggest supporter in life, my husband.
